Washington Cities Can Now Penalize Sleeping Outdoors

The U.S.

Supreme Court's ruling in Grants Pass v.

Johnson allows local governments to outlaw outdoor sleeping even when shelter space is unavailable, overturning a previous 9th Circuit decision that deemed such punishments "cruel and unusual." While proponents argue the decision restores local control and provides necessary tools to manage encampments, housing advocates and several Washington lawmakers warn that criminalizing survival will exacerbate the homelessness crisis and fail to address its root causes.

Washington's fear that punishing outdoor sleeping would spread proved half right: dozens of cities adopted camping bans after Grants Pass, yet the state twice failed to respond. House Bill 2489, which would have barred penalties for sleeping outdoors without proven adequate shelter, cleared committee in February and died in House Rules without a floor vote, the second straight session city opposition sank such a bill Washington State Standard. Unhoused residents absorb the cost, with 22,173 people counted homeless last January, up 25 percent from 2022, while a July 2025 executive order steers federal money toward localities that criminalize camping a Southern Poverty Law Center explainer. Enforcement stays local and contested when the legislature reconvenes in January 2027.